The Government in England wants every school to be a sustainable school by 2020. The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) launched their Sustainable Schools Framework in 2006 when the Secretary of State for Education, the Rt Hon Alan Johnson MP set out challenging long-term aspirations for schools to mainstream learning about sustainable development issues and sustainable practices into everyday school life.
We need to create more sustainable economies and lifestyles because the old ways of working will not deliver the future our children deserve or want. Two of the most urgent issues facing the UK are the interrelated questions of climate change and 'peak oil'.
Children need to understand about climate change, because it is affecting their lives now and will do so even more in the future. Similarly, we need to plan for a future in which we depend far less on oil. What does a future economy, no longer dependent primarily on oil, look like? Firstly, the scarcity and high price of fossil fuels will have forced us to drastically cut our wasteful use of energy. Secondly, energy efficient household appliances, transport and industry will be the norm. Thirdly, renewable sources of energy will have replaced gas and oil. This will require huge social, cultural and economic transitions; however, Sustainable Schools – with their eco-teams – are already laying the foundations.
According to the Department for Children, Schools and Families, schools are responsible for 15% of public sector carbon emissions. The government’s new carbon management strategy for the schools sector, published in April 2010, sets an ambitious target to cut schools’ current emissions from energy use by 53% by 2020 – helping schools to tackle climate change while at the same time saving money.
Small changes to the environmental management of a school can result in considerable financial savings. Transition Derby can offer several services to help in this process from help with energy advice, audits and oil vulnerabilitiy analysis to development of learning resources such as our Forest Garden Schools project.
Forest Garden Schools
Our Forest Garden Schools project provides an effective way of introducing a variety of environmental topics into the National Curriculum, developing a much more creative learning environment for all pupils, whilst also encouraging scientific review and data analysis.
What is a Forest Garden?
A garden that is deliberately planted to mimic a natural forest ecosystem, except that the species chosen are mainly edible rather than decorative. Some will be chosen for other reasons though – for example firewood, nitrogen fixing or medicines. Once established the gardens tend to be extremely low maintenance as the ecosystems look after themselves.
Why Forest Gardens are good for schools?
Forest Gardens in give a series of practical demonstration and skills sites providing opportunities for –
- Interaction with and learning from the Forest Garden and its natural systems in the planting/picking/preserving/cooking/eating/meeting/skills sharing/connecting with nature/ etc. Recent research into how the brain works and absorbs information has recognised the value of first-hand learning experiences.
- Increasing knowledge and skills about a natural food growing system that is sustainable and the wider implications of this at neighbourhood, city, national and global levels. Evidence suggests that motivation is also significantly improved when pupils are able to see the big picture.
- A productive local food system with a low maintenance and energy input requirement
- Building strong partnerships with the local community is a vital part of the process. The school community includes pupils, teachers, non-teaching staff, governors, parents and other relatives, local clubs, associations and businesses, etc. Within this community there will be a wealth of knowledge and useful expertise.
- Furthering the schools' links and status with the Healthy Schools, EcoSchools and Soil Association frameworks. Raising the profile of your school locally, and nationally
- Outdoor education and enrichment activities
- Increasing the biodiversity within the school grounds
- Increasing the physical attractiveness of school grounds
- Provision of wildspace areas for children
Is a fantastic opportunity for Derby to take the lead on Climate Change. There are 103 schools within the city serving over 38,000 children and their wider communities. If each of these schools signed up to the project the repercussions and benefits would be immeasurable. It is an opportunity for the City to demonstrate to all people at neighbourhood, city, regional, national and global levels that Derby is doing something to leave the planet in a better condition for the next generation. These local small scale actions provide a solution that is easy and acceptable to all. It would be the first Forest Garden City in the world and a great example to others of positive solutions that can be made in difficult times. Forest Garden Project page.
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Written by Dave